The situation in the German meeting and incentive industry must be seen as highly dramatic. In Germany, a lobbying group by the name “Alarm Level Red” is demanding from the government immediate action to assure the continuation of the MICE sector.
It started right before Berlin was planning to host the travel and tourism world at ITB, the largest travel industry event in the world. ITB was canceled last minute on February 28 after eTurboNews predicted it on February 24, 2020. This last-minute cancellation caused significant losses for travel and tourism companies in all corners of the globe. ITB refunded stand-rents, but significant money invested in events, stand designs, accommodation, air transportation and temp staff already hired was not refunded in most cases. Some destinations invested a majority of their annual promotional budget to shine at ITB, and there was nothing left to shine about.
While the meeting industry has been shifting to zoom events, the sector has been suffering the longest from COVID-19 lockdowns and cancellations. 4-5 months with no revenue cannot be sustainable for any size company.
MICE was generating 130 billion Euros in business in Germany with 1 million people directly or indirectly working in the industry. Making events illegal means making MICE business illegal.
People working in the MICE industry indirectly include catering, cultural business industry, creative design businesses, the accommodation, and transportation sector, restaurants, and shopping. When counting this extended sector to the losses the German Meeting and Incentive industry suffered, the total damage can be substantiated to 264.1 billion Euro with 3 million people fighting to keep their jobs.
SOURCE: Mice Business
